Bank bandit trap



June, 11, 1935. w, B, OLEMAN H A. 2,004,551

BANK BANDIT TRAP Filed Feb. 23, 1932 4 sheets sheet 1 June 11, 1935.

W. B. COLEMAN ET AL BANK BANDIT TRAP Filed Feb. 23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 grwc/wbow WB.C0leman,

EQIEbGZ .IIIIIIII!!! mZM w/ June 11, 1935.

W. B. COLEMAN ET AL BANK BANDIT TRAP Filed Feb. 23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 11, 1935. w, a gQLEMAN AL 2,004,551

1mm BANDIT TRAP Filed'Feb. 23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Colerna/n,

Patented June 11, 1935 UNITED STATES B NK BANDIT T Walker B. Coleman and Frank New Orleans, La.

J. Ebel,

Application February 23, 1932, Serial o.- 594,724

' 3 Claims. .(01. 20 1.0 1)

v -Our invention relates to new and provernentsin bank bandit trap and has for its. principal object the provision ofxmeans for pre-' useful imventing the escape of a person who has or who attemptedto hold up and rob a bank.

:Another object of the invention consists in the provision of arotatable door positioned in a. pas-' sage and normally adapted to permit persons to enter and leave the bank, means being provided and controlled from suitable points for engaging and preventing rotation of the door and for holding the same in a position to trap the bandit within the bank or in a position between the openings-of the passage through which: persons pass in entering and leaving the bank- Anotherobject of the invention resides the provision of compartments adjacent the revolve able door into which an attendant may enter, one of the compartments being provided with windowsthrough which a view of .the'interior of thebank may be obtained, at least. one of the windows being positioned to overlook the end of the entrance passage. Openings are also pro-v vided through which an attendant may discharge a gun, these openings being normally closed by doors or slides and the windows being preferably formed of bullet-proof glass. Each of the compartments is also provided with ventilating openings adjacent which are positioned deflect-k ing'vanes whereby any bullets discharged from a' gun carried by the bandit "may be.defiected away from the attendant or person positioned within the compartment. One of the compartments may be used for storage of a. battery or.

other mechanism for a purpose which will he.

brought out.

Still another object of the invention consists in the provision of a novel form of tellers cage in which the teller while at his regular work, will have'a clear view of the interior of the bankand the entrance passage. The tellers cage will also have openings through which a gun may be fired as well as deflecting vanes for deflecting bullets, fired by thebandit, away from the 00-1 cupant of the case.

As a further object of the invention wefformthe rotatable door of a and provide removable plurality of, slats or bars a s pan ls. wh chma bev attached in the winter time or during inclement weather.

With the above and. other. objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention consists in the novel details of onstruc ion a d ran ement o pa t d cr ed ntheioflowine sp cifica ion and llus ated be made as will fall within the scopeof. the

appended claims.

In the drawings: 3 Fig. 1 shows a general plan ofthe interior of the bankwith our trap positioned in the entrance and-outlet passage. i .Fig.'. 2 is a detail showinga top-plan of'lthetrap and adjacent compartments. Y 1 i Fig. 3 isahorizontal section, with parts shown. inxplan, through the trap and compartments.

Fig. 4; is a side elevation looking from the interior of the bank. v r Fig. 5 is a fragmental detail showing a horizontal section through one of the arms or partitions of the. revolvable door-.withthe' detachable glass. panels inv position. p

Fig, 6 is a diagrammatic-viewof thecircuit for. controlling the rotatable door lock-.andfor operating a siren preferably positioned exteriorly ofthebank.;.

Fig. 7 is a'fragmental detail showing one of the Windows for gaining a view from the compartmentvpositioned adjacent the revolvable doora'swell as one of the port openings for firing a gun, I

with the door or slide, for normally closing the Fig.8 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section on the Knew-10 of'F-ig. 8 lookinglin-the direction of thearrows In the drawings 0. indicates the interior of a bank having the usual arrangement -.of counters,- teller cages, vaults, etc., and 1) indicates the passage through whichfpersons {enter and leave the bank. The passage b. is'formed bythe'cornpartments 0 and d, the inner walls or faces of which are. curved inwardly as shown at I: and 2 to permit proper positioning and rotation of adoor. indicated generally at e. The door includes the vertically extending shaftfiand the radially extending arms or partitions 4, 5,6 and l, the arms or partitionsbeing formed as shown more'particularly- -in 4 of the drawings by means of 1 the'vertically extending bars or rods 8 and the horizontally extending bars or rods 9. The low.- j er end, of; the vertically extending shaft 3 is ro-' tatably. mounted. in the floor-while the upper end i Figs. '4 andG of the drawings, by means of the notches or recesses audit will be understood 7 ing positioned in rtheCOm'partments c and-the to the shaft 3, adjacent the upper end thereof; is a disc or plate l2 having the upwardly extending peripheral flange l3 which is formed in its upper edge with the circumierentially -spaced' notches or recesses 14, these recesses. or notches I4 being spaced an equal distance apart, as shown more particularly in Figs. med 2 of the draw ings and for a purpose which will belater apparent. The plate or disc l2 ,is provided around its peripheral edge with ratchet teeth I 5' which engagement with the teeth by the spring 11. This arrangement-pf-teeth and pawl is more particularly illustrated inFig. 1 of the drawings and permits rotation of the door ein only one direction as indicated by the arrows. y 1

For'locking the rotatable door we provide the latch member l8 which is normally'heldwith its inner. end raised, as shown more particularly in weight {9, this latch member l8 forming an ar-' mature adapted tobe attracted by the'magnet l9 when the-same is energized. When the magnet is'energized thinner end of the latch memher will be lowered to be engaged in one of the that if one of the notches isnotin position to receive the end of the latch member when the armature is initially energizedthat'the end of the latch member will ride around the upper edge of the flange l3 as the door is rotated and will then snap into the notch or recess l4 when the. same is aligned with the latch. jWith the end of the lever engaged in a notch the door will be held against rotation and with the arms or partitions forming a part of the door positioned as shown more particularly in Fig. 3. If a bandit has reached the door before thesame is locked he will be trapped between certain pairs of the arms orparti'tions'between the ends of the passage." In the position shown in Fig. 3 the bandit might be trapped between'the arms 4 or ,5 or between the arms 6 and I. Ifthe bandit hasnot reachedthe door, prior to the same being locked. he naturally could not rotate'the door when reached, to escape.- Inother words with the arms positioned as shown in Fig. 3 if the bandit should enter between the arms 4 and I hecould not rotate the door.

The latch or armature l8 operates in the guide members 2!] which limit theupward movement of the inner end thereof, as shown more particularly'in-Fig. 4 ofthe drawingsand each of the guides is provided with an adjusting screw derstood that the siren may be positioned asdej sired, but preferably exteriorly of the building toattract attention of police officers or passers-by. The switches 23 and 24 may be positioned as desired,but we have illustrated one switch as beare engaged byfa pawl I6 normally-pressed into other switch being positioned in the tellers cage f, the detailed construction of which will be later described.

For closing, when desired, the inner opening of the passage b we provide the sliding door 26 supported'from a suitable track construction and normally held in open position by the weight 21 connected to the door by means of the rope or cable 28, the rope or cable passing over the pulley 29, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. A rope 30 is connected to the door 26 and; leads into the compartment 0 where it may,

be graspedfor pulling the door closed. If desired-the end of the rope might be connected to alever or the like and may be secured in any suitable manner for holding or looking the door closed. When the rope is released the weight 2'! will-pull' the door to open position. While we haveonly illustrated the two switches 23 and 24 it will b'understood that any desired number of switches may be provided'and positioned at different-points within the-bankior operation by. The compartment 0 is pro the desired-persons. vided with the door 32 through which a person may enter and leave the compartment and the comp'artmentd is "provided with a door 33 "for i the same purpose. provided for lockingthe doors32 and 33 from the inside of the compartment. The compartmentc is provided; with thewindows or lookouts '34; preferably of bullet-proof .glass,-. and. these win'dows or: look-outs are positioned, as shown' more particularly in Fig. 3 of the draw-J ings,:so'.,that a person within the compartmentmay gain aLvieW of the interior of the bank; and itw'ill' beI-noted that one of the windowsiis positioned adjacent the inner end of the passage b.

The curved wall I: of the compartment 0 is provided with the window or look-out 35 so that-a person'within the com'partmentmay see a person positioned between'thearms or partitions of. the rotatable door; Beneath each of the windows 34 and. 35 is a port hole 36throughwhich a gun may be firediwhen'de'sired. These port holes are normally iclosed'by the slides or doors'3'l shownmore' particularly in Fig-.7 of the drawings. A person within. the-compartment 0 may talktona. person positioned inthe passage b through the port openingbeneath the window 35 when desired. For ventilating purposes openings 38 are formed inth'e-curved wall I of the compartmentc andpositioned adjacent one edge of. thenopenings 38 is a vane 39 directed, as

each of shown more particularly in Fig. '3 of the, drawing's, for deflectingshots or bullets from aperson who may be leaving or entering the compart ment- -Thecompartrnent dis provided with the. ven--. tilating openings 40 and adjacentone edge of vane 4| .for'

eachtofitheiopenings is a deflecting dire'ctingibullets or shots away-from a person entering or leaving the compartment. In Fig.3 of thedrawingswe have'shown the battery 22 as being positioned within the compartment d' and the switch 23 is shown positioned in the 21. The circuit shown in Fig. 6 includes the'bat-j Compartment 'Tlie' tellers cage terior of the room. The formation of the cage is shown more-particularly in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 of the-drawings"and'includes the cabinet 43 having a stool 44 upon sit. -We haveshown Latches "3 l. are

D i will be so positioned within thebank' room that the teller orattendant, within'the' cag'e, mayhave' a view 'of-the entire inwhich the attendant maythe cabinet as being formed' metal and-"provided with" the front and rear 1 bullet-proof glass panels 45 and 45, each panel being provided with'the port holes 4! through which a gun may be fired. The front panel is also provided with the opening 48 through which the attendant may talk and positioned just beneath the opening 48 is a shelf 49 to the under surface of which the switch 24 is secured. Positioned on the shelf 49, in the rear of the opening 48 is a shield, to protect the attendant, and this shield includes the metal back plate 5!! and the wood front facing 5! in which bullets which might be fired through the opening 48 will be embedded. The shield is provided with a port opening 52 through which the attendant may look out or fire a gun when desired. The front of the cabinet is provided, at the sides of the glass panel 45, with the ventilating openings 53', which are elongated and extend vertically, and positioned along one edge of each of the openings is a deflector strip or vane 54, these vanes or strips being directed towards the sides of the cabinet to deflect bullets or shots away from the attendant. We have also shown transversely extending openings 55 beneath the glass panel 45 and adjacent the upper edge of each of these openings is a downwardly extending deflecting vane 56 which will deflect bullets or shots towards the bottom of the cabinet. A door is shown at 51 and the attendant may enter or leave the cabinet through this door. At 58 we have shown windows, formed of bullet-proof glass, through which the attendant may look and beneath each of these windows is a port or opening 59 through which the attendant may fire a gun. A sliding door 48' is provided for closing the opening 48 when desired.

From the above it is thought that the construc tion will be clearly understood as well as the op eration. It will be understood that an attendant will be positioned within the tellers cage 1 and, as previously stated, he has a view of the interior of the bank room. Should he notice that the bank is being held up and robbed he may operate the switch 24 which, through means of the circuit illustrated in Fig. 6, will energize the magnet I 9 and attract the armature to engage the inner end of the latch IS in one of the notches I 4 of the flange 43. As set forth in the previous description if one of the notches i4 is not in position to receive the latch then the latch will ride around on the upper edge of the flange until one of the notches is aligned therewith With the latch member received in one of the notches it will be impossible for the bandit to escape through the passage b for the rotatable door will be locked or if he reaches the door before the same is locked he can only rotate the same until the latch drops into one of the notches and he will then be held midway in the passage to prevent his escape. At the time that the circuit is closed for controlling the latch or lock the siren 25 will be operated to give an alarm. The attendant may fire a gun through the ports 41, 52 or 55 and if the bandit fires towards the tellers cage the attendant will be protected against injury, it being noted that if the bullet or shot should pass through one of the openings 53 or 55 that it will be deflected away from the attendant. After banking hours the rotatable door may be locked to prevent the entrance of any person and if some one should request that they be admitted an attendant of the bank may enter the compartment 0 and release the door so that it may rotate sufficiently to alow a person to enter the passage and be positioned at a point between the arms or partitions 4 and 5 shown in Fig. 3. The attendant may then view the person through the window 35 and, if desired, talk to him or her through one of the ports 35 positioned below the window. Should the attendant decide that the person is entitled to admission the latch may be released to allow the door to rotate sufllciently for the entrance of the person. When an attendant is in the compartment c the latch or look is controlled through means of the switch 23. A person within the compartment may view'thc interior of the bank room through the opening 34 and if a holdup takes place may fire a gun through the-ports 36., of particular advantage Our invention will also be in small banks found in small towns where very often there is only one or two attendants. The door may be locked and if someone asks admittance the attendant may enter the compartment 0 to observe the person before releasing the" look through means of the switch 23. The compartment (2 may also receive an attendant and is also used for positioning the battery 22. The entrance may be closed by the door 26, when desired. and an, outer door to the bank entrance will be provided as usual forlocking at night and,

as has been' stated, during summer time and where there is clear weather the rods or bars 8 and 9 forming the rotatable door inclement weather the glass panels ll may be as shown more particularly inFig. 5.

Having fully described our claim as new and desire to Patent is:-

1. An entrance and exit for a bank or the like including an elongated passageway having awall formed by a hollow compartment adapted to receive an attendant, a revolvable door positioned within the passageway, the compartment being formed and adapted to permit view of the passageway by the attendant and having openings therein, and vanes positioned adjacent the openinvention what we secure by Letters permit ventilation secured in position ings to deflect bullets away from the attendant in the compartment.

2. An entrance and exit for a bank or the like including compartments positioned and placed to provide side walls of an elongated passage-way, and a door positioned within the passage-way and intermediate the ends thereof for controlling movement therethrough, each of the compartments having openings therein and vanes positioned adjacent the openings to deflect bullets away from an attendant within the compartment.

3. An entrance and exit for a bank or the like including compartments positioned and placed to provide side walls of an elongated passage-way, and a door positioned within the passage-way and intermediate the ends thereof for controlling movement therethrough, each of the compartments having openings therein and vanes positioned adjacent the openings to deflect bullets away from an attendant within the compartment and at least one of the compartments being formed and adapted to permit view of the passage-way by the attendant within the compartment. I

' FRANK J. EBEL.

WALKER B. COLEMAN. 

